Change When You Least Expect It: One Veteran’s Odyssey from Homelessness to Hope
Last Updated: 31 Jan 2024
COMMUNITY SERVICES
How this former Army Reservist found purpose
On any given day at San Antonio’s Haven for Hope campus offering shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness, you might see Vince Moses talking quietly with a Veteran, sponsoring them on their recovery journey.
Or you might find him facilitating a group of 40 participants in the Co-Occurring Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorder Program provided by Haven’s Center for Healthcare Services.
On a lunch break, Moses might be catching up on homework for medical billing school, for which he maintains a 4.0 GPA. In the evenings, making extra money at a restaurant. And on the weekends, spending cherished time with his preteen daughter.
This description reflects a life of professional success and personal fulfillment – but Moses, who once served in the Army Reserves, will be the first to tell you it hasn’t always been this way. For nearly a decade up until 2020, Moses struggled with substance abuse, experienced homelessness for three years, and lost contact with his family, including his daughter.
“I was an addict,” he says. “I was on drugs, alcohol. Sleeping in abandoned houses, going in dumpsters for food, standing on corners panhandling. Doing anything for the high.”
The turning point came after Moses had a run-in with the law. Upon release from jail, he was admitted to Jail Outreach, a program at Haven for Hope that included rehabilitation. As he puts it, the choice was either joining Haven and getting sober or going to prison.
At Haven, Moses addressed his addictions, becoming clean in January 2021. He completed and graduated from both the Intensive Outpatient Program and the Co-Occurring Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorder Program.
Moses also participated in Next Right Steps, a sober living program that usually takes a year to complete. Moses finished in nine months.
He got hired at a local restaurant and began setting aside money for housing. It was then that he connected with Endeavors, the San Antonio nonprofit that provides services and support for Veterans.
With the help of Endeavors’ Navigator Program, Moses moved into his own apartment, using his earnings from the restaurant to further his education and career goals. To that end, he obtained a scholarship for medical billing and coding school and landed a job as a Recovery Facilitator at Haven for Hope’s Center for Healthcare Services – the very same program from which he graduated just a few short years ago.
“When I was there, I thought people didn’t want to help me,” he remembers. “Then I got to a place of understanding that everything’s a process. Now that I’m on the other side, I see everybody feeling the way I felt. Being able to help them move through that and accept where they are makes me feel better.”
He also reconnected with his daughter. They now enjoy regular visits, even weeklong stays.
As Moses views it, going to jail might have been the best thing to happen to him.
“I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. There was a point when I was homeless that I asked God to get me off the streets. When I went to jail, to me that was God answering my prayers. I was put into Haven, then I got into Endeavors, and now I have my own apartment, my own car, my own jobs. Everything has been a 180 from what it was.”
Meet more Veterans who have broken the cycle of homelessness.
About Endeavors
Endeavors is a longstanding national non-profit that provides an array of programs and services in support of children, families, Veterans, and those struggling with mental illness and other disabilities. Endeavors serves vulnerable people in crisis through innovative personalized services. For more information, please visit endeavors.org.